By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The biggest jump in outside agency requests this year for the City of Great Bend’s 2026 budget came from Great Bend Economic Development, asking for an additional $125,000.
The City and Barton County previously funded GBED $500,000, each entity allocating $250,000. At the beginning of the year, Barton County removed their direct allocation and moved to project-based funding.
At Monday’s work session, Great Bend Mayor Cody Schmidt said the city funds Economic Development to know what is going on with the organization.
"Economic Development is funded by the City of Great Bend so the council and mayor can have a say in what they do," said Schmidt. "If the council and mayor don't want to have a say, then quit funding them. But if you want to continue to have Sara Arnberger (Director) in here, you want to sit down and meet with the board, know the insides and outsides of what they're doing to recruit people, you have to fund that organization."
City Administrator Logan Burns said funding Economic Development at their requested $375,000 is not sustainable. If the council continued at that rate, in seven years the economic development fund would be depleted, a fund that is also used for business recruitment and incentives.
Councilman Cory Urban and the majority of the council were in favor of funding Economic Development at the increased amount of $375,000, but most likely just for this upcoming budget.
"We do this as a one year, given the situation from what their prior budgets were," said Urban. "They've cut a bunch from their prior budgets. I think this year we need to do it at this, but then it needs to be clearly stated that this is one-off deal. We need to look to return to the $250,000ish budget in the future."
The Great Bend City Council will conduct a budget work session on July 14 as they continue to sort out the numbers.